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 Delightful presentation of Kreeda - V.V. Ramani e-mail: ramanigaru@gmail.com Photos courtesy: Prayathnam December 16, 2024 The sounds of laughter, excited bright-eyed children, and thunderous applause filled the auditorium space on a Sunday morning. It came as a big surprise that it was not a magic show or a comedy circus, that evoked such a response, but a classical Bharatanatyam group presentation. The performance that made such an impact was 'Kreeda,' a choreographic work conceptualised by the doyen of dance, Professor C.V. Chandrasekhar and presented by Manjari. This work that he had created more than two decades back, was presented as part of 'Vaarshikam,' the annual day presentation of Prayathnam.   Moving away from the routine popular themes, Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar created a work wherein he compiled popular childhood games to fit into dance movements. The manner in which he had conceived and choreographed it without deviating from the classical idiom of Bharatanatyam was a testimony to the creative vision of the legendary artiste. A set of young dancers, moving with great joy and enthusiasm, transported the elderly people there in the audience to their childhood, where games like skipping, pambaram, gilli danda, pittu, kite flying, Koko were a part of their life. Sadly, the children of this generation have not experienced many of these games, nevertheless they sat engrossed with the show. It was not just the recreation of the games that garnered attention, but the little details and nuances that went into the scenes, by way of responses and reactions and behavioral patterns of the children that had been visualised beautifully. Kalyani raga swaras for the game pandi, powerful jathi renditions for skipping, using the syllables of Koko itself musically to capture the dynamism of the game, and more such musical inputs had been incorporated seamlessly to go with each game. The musical team consisting of Sai Kripa Prasanna on nattuvangam, Janani Hamsini on vocal support, T.V. Sukanya on violin, Guru Bharadwaj on mridangam, Sujit Naik on flute, provided excellent support in recreating the perfect soundscape that had been conceived for each game by CVC.  The young team of talented dancers danced with great enthusiasm and energy. Their movements, entries and exits, reactions and counter reactions, joyous bonhomie, were filled with little nuances that made it a delight to watch. When one girl is balancing the stone on her head and jumping, the worried look on some faces and envious joy on others, spinning the 'Pambaram' (Top) on the legs and back were some interesting moments. Sai Kripa had done a commendable job in training these youngsters. The vibrant colours of the costume were appealing, but a little more care could have been taken for the material and drape of the fabrics, to match up to the aesthetic sensibility for which CVC was known for. Padmashree Vijayaraghavan, G Aparna, Sundaresan Pandurangan, Brinda Balaji, Nityarani, Sahana Shivakumar, Prajith K P, Dayasagari Vijayaraghavan, Padmasree Kannappan, Saumya Shivakumar were the dancers, who did a commendable job. Kreeda is a production that needs to be seen in various performance venues and schools, taking the art of Bharatanatyam to many, who are not exposed to it. It would also be of interest to dancers to look at interesting themes like this, as an inspiration for new concepts to be explored for dance choreography.  V.V. Ramani is a Chennai based multi-dimensional artist working in diverse fields ranging from collages and painting, teaching art, textile and costume designing, stage sets designing and wedding decor, to writing on visual and performing arts. |
